Monthly Archives: June 2011

Sunshine On A Cloudy Day (30×30: Day 13)

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Outfit Details:

Glasses: Marc by Marc Jacobs; Costco.

Earrings/Necklace: Kohl’s.

Tank Top: Gift from sister.

Leggings: Ross.

Shoes: Steve Madden; 16th birthday gift.

I’m not sure if wearing leggings as pants is a fashion crime or not, but I ended up doing it yesterday. In my defense, I didn’t go out in public that day. It was a stay inside and pack sort of day.

I’ve been wearing this yellow tank top a lot recently, but always with skirts and today you can see why. This tank top is incredibly long. Skirts are the only way I’ve found that works when pairing this top with anything. I actually kind of liked this outfit, if the tank top wasn’t so see-through over the brown leggings.

The leggings have some great studded detailing across the bottom of the leg opening. I actually have another pair in purple. And, these wedges? They’re my new favorite item in my 30 for 30. They’re so comfortable in addition to being adorable.

This is where the Guy told me I looked like a vampire’s dream with my neck exposed.

Picked up this jewelry set in Kohl’s awhile back. The earrings are a replacement for my old favorites–I lost one of them awhile back and still don’t have the heart to get rid of the lonely earring. I despised long necklaces for a really long time, but have gradually fallen in love with them recently.

Still more packing to do. Hoping to get more done this weekend.

I’m Walking on Sunshine… (30×30: Day 12)

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Who doesn’t love yellow? I’m so glad I incorporated this top into my 30 for 30. It was one of the last items I chose, actually. It’s also the only yellow item in my closet, which is kind of upsetting because I’m a fiend for yellow lately. I just can’t get enough of it. The skirt is my go-to for black and white skirt items. Also played with my part today to make it a more dramatic side-part. Not sure if I like it.

In regards to 30 for 30, I’m considering switching out two of my items that I haven’t used yet (ankle boots, cream tank top), but I’m not entirely sure. I feel like I should at least try to work with them…

I really wanted to add more color besides the yellow in this outfit, so I chose these pieces of jewelry. I never realized how well these pieces worked until I pulled them out. I bought these years apart, but they work so exceptionally well together.

I love these wedges. Absolutely love them. I can’t believe I haven’t worn them in so long. They feel like such a great wardrobe staple that I’ve been incorporating them into everything lately. I can’t help it–they’re so versatile. And comfy.

Today was mostly boring. Did some writer’s group stuff with Jenn, in which none of our other group members showed up and we played around on wordpress for awhile. Then went back home and Jenn & Cavan came over and we all tried to make ice cream (it did not work very well).

Below is my pretend jumping picture:

Outfit details: 

Shoes: Steve Madden (16th birthday gift)

Yellow Top: Gifted from sister

B/W Skirt: Found in Ross

Earrings: Local shop on Kauai, Hawaii

Necklace: Likely from Macy’s. A long long time ago.

Glasses: Marc Jacobs, Costco.

“This is a bad land for gods”

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(The post title is taken from “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman. The character speaking is Shadow)

I drove down to Seattle on Sunday to see Neil Gaiman (!!!!!). My friend, Jenn, and I met up with our friend, Kendall to go see his interview. However, we did not have tickets (although we would have bought them if we could), but we hoped to get in anyway. We at the very beginning of the “stand-by” line. Even better? We ended up getting into the event for FREE! People who had paid for tickets for multiple people, ended up having extras and just giving them to us in the stand-by line.

The place was super packed. We were quite lucky to get the seats we did, actually. But we ended up talking to another guy that Kendall had run into earlier that day, and then we snagged him a free ticket later. He offered to let us sit with him, and we took him up on it.

And here’s NEIL! He read several parts of “American Gods” to the audience. I’m pretty sure I have 50+ pictures of Neil Gaiman on my computer. And I recorded some bits of him speaking. He has an incredibly pleasant voice, so I have plans to buy an audio book of “American Gods” now.

I had to resist squealing loudly at his presence. I mean, seriously, Neil Gaiman?! And he’s even more amazing in person? He was utterly hilarious AND he talked with his hands. I’m pretty sure my thought process went kind of like “Ohmigod it’s Neil Gaiman! I’m in Neil Gaiman’s presence! He’s right there!” and it only continued like that from there. Needless to say the event was amazing, and Jenn and I resolved to head to more author events in the future because it was that AWESOME.

Jeans: Current Eliott

Grey Tee: Old Navy

White Cami: unknown

White Flats: Blowfish

White Cardigan: Gap

I managed to get horribly sunburnt on Saturday. So here’s what I wore Sunday as I slathered myself in sunscreen. We left Bellingham at noon, and got to Seattle at 2:30. The event started at 7, so flats were a necessity since I would be tramping around Pike Place, etc all day. I really needed to avoid the sun, so I wore my favorite jeans, layers of cami & tee & cardigan. To top it off, this sunhat from Target came with me too.

To end this post, I’ll leave you this quote from “American Gods”. Also, if you have not read the book–pick it up! Head to the library, or buy it from your local bookstore, or even buy it on Amazon (here). I’m linking to the 10th Anniversary Edition because it has a lot more content, and Neil recommends it over the original version. Seriously, just read it.

“Gods die. And when they truly die they are unmourned and unremembered. Ideas are more difficult to kill than people, but they can be killed, in the end.”– American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Just Call Me Kawaii (30×30: Day 10)

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Being stuck with only thirty items has sent me into the tailspin of madness. That’s the only way I can really explain today’s outfit–I needed to do something utterly outrageous.

Recently, I’ve been discussing Japanese fashion trends with two of my friends, and we were talking about grimoire and lolita and FRUiTs magazine. We were lamenting how in Japan it seems like every day is an opportunity for an amazing new costume and you can wear these elaborate outfits and no one will bat an eyelash, whereas in the U.S. any those those outfits would only work on Halloween. For instance if I wore this (on the left) or this or this or this , I’m sure I would seem utterly insane in my little Washington State city.

However, today? This is me not caring!

I really wanted to wear this shirt/skirt together for awhile after an outfit attempt with them earlier this year (that utterly failed). The J. Crew skirt is a find from Buffalo Exchange that I got for $1, and it just feels so school girl to me. Pairing this blouse (White House, Black Market) with it only ups the ‘school girl’ look. The shoes are Steven Madden that I got for my 16th birthday (my first ever pair of Steve Maddens). And once I had the skirt, blouse, and shoes on it was really kind of necessary for me to add the pigtails. I actually have really thin hair so I teased both of them so they’d look the same size. I actually wish they were bigger now, as I look at the pictures.

Orange toe nails! I ended up buying my first OPI nail polish recently, and I was drawn to this shade from OPI’s Texas Collection called Y’all Come Back, Ya Hear? (Buy it here). I absolutely love it, it feels so summery to me.  After comparing it with the only other nail polish I own (Sally Hansen diamond…blah blah) can I just say that the quality is such a big difference! Where the SH was horrid to apply (I honestly thought it was just my application skills), the OPI went on so smoothly and just looks wonderful.

I always have to try something new with the poses. Haha. Didn’t really go anywhere today, though. Just stayed at home, packing the majority of my wardrobe into boxes. I probably should have packed more, but then I got distracted by the internet.

Might As Well Jump (30 for 30: Day 9)

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Yesterday I was in a rush. After staying up until 2 AM finishing my chapter for my story, I realized I had to wake up at 9:30 to actually get to my writer’s group the next day! Whoops. And of course, I overslept and just grabbed the first two items on the top of my 30 for 30 pile, along with the closest pair of shoes.

The black cardi is from Ross (I think), and the dress is from Target. I really wish I’d had a picture without the cardi, but I forgot. These white Blowfish flats have been getting a lot of play on here recently–you probably wouldn’t believe I’d only worn them once before. Now they’re my go-to staple!

After seeing Kaelah Bee doing some super cute jumping poses on her blog, Little Chief Honeybee, here, I totally thought it seemed like a really great idea. I pictured adorable jumping photos of myself posted on the blog–my skirt and hair flowing gracefully in the wind.

Apparently jumping poses are for experienced bloggers only, because every single photo came out like this:

It pretty much looked like me flailing around, and ended with mad laughter and tears running down my cheeks. It was super hilarious because I was so sure the neighbors were going to pop their heads out of their apartments at any moment and see me jumping over and over as the Guy tried to snap pictures of me in mid-jump while talking of the phone.

I added a black headband to the outfit, and actually braved the colorful makeup palette again today. Did a combo of green/yellow and felt like a fairy sprite for the day. I did yellow along the lower lash line and the front half of my lids, then a lighter green towards the back of my lid and blended very well in the middle. I also used darker green eyeshadow as eyeliner on the top lid and added mascara. Voila! Fairy Sprite.

After my writer’s group, I ended up in the DOL for 3 hours. Seriously. Then went with bestie, Sarah, to Social Security Office so she could change her name. After that ordeal, we rewarded ourselves with cheeseburgers from McDonald’s and watched an episode of the X-Files.

Then I headed back home and forced the Guy to take pictures of me. So this is me after jaunting around town for the day. Outfit 9 really stood up to the wear and tear of the city, no?

Tomorrow I’ve got an outfit I’ve been interested in trying even before 30 for 30. Kinda school-girl chic. Super excited for it.

Blueberry Pie, Oh me, Oh my… (30×30: Day 8)

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White floppy hat, Target; navy & white top, Ross; lacy navy skirt, local shop, Nostalgia; white wedges, Payless; pearl earrings, gift from parents. 

Oh hai there bike! (It’s not mine, it’s the Guy’s. I actually hate bike riding, a vestigial resentment leftover from my childhood after my mother forced us on long bike rides whenever we were on vacation.) (Also, if you couldn’t tell, this is the back porch/deck of our apartment. The Guy and I never go back there. Ever.)

Can I just say hallelujah to the sunlight? It’s super helpful for my 30 for 30. This is the second day in a row I’ve worn a skirt (unless you include pajama day yesterday, but I don’t). Normally I’m very much a jeans kind of gal (in the sense that I’m lazy), but I do love my skirts (as long as it’s not windy. I’m super paranoid about the undies being shown to the world). This little navy skirt was a recent purchase at a little local shop (Nostalgia) that I absolutely love. I’ve only worn it once, so I knew I had to include it in my 30 for 30.

Seriously, look at the stunning detailing! I’m so in love with it. I really need to wear this thing more. I got several compliments on it today.

Here’s a close up of the earrings and my makeup. I had a makeup mishap today, actually. Needless to say the 88 makeup palette I was using? The blue eyeshadow I tried really did not work. I looked like a throwback to the 80′s — and not good 80′s, but bad 80′s. So I removed it all, and then ended up being boring and going for browns. I’ll have to hunt for some brightly colored makeup looks and try to mimic those, because the whole striking-out-on-my-own thing really did not work out this morning.

(Oooh ahhh, sepia. Decided to play with some photo editing features today.) I ended up spending the day running around the town. First went to Goodwill & Costco with my friend Erin. Then ended up heading back to my apartment only to have my friend Sarah call. So I ended up dashing off to her, and we went around town and accomplished nothing (she needed to go to the DMV and it was super packed, so we wouldn’t have been helped before 5pm-ish). We then went to a bookstore, she bought 3 books, then we went and ate some delicious Caesar salad and Canadian bacon & sausage pizza.

This means I haven’t done anything I was actually supposed to do today. Whoops.

Chatty Kathy: Some Days Are Just PJ Days

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No new outfit post this morning, sadly. I managed to sleep for over 12 hours yesterday, so I woke up at 2 PM! At that point, I simply figured why bother getting dressed? And thus, I spend the whole day in pajamas. I’m not gonna lie, it was wonderful.

Instead I’ll show you some of my haul from the shopping weekend, and a couple of links. Regular outfits will resume tomorrow.

Christine really wanted to head into Bath and Bodyworks while we were in the mall, and I got these two things. This little chick handsoap was too adorable to leave behind, and that massage was definitely a worthwhile purchase. I’ve already used it 5+ times and it was only $4.50! My Mom realized later that she should have bought one too.

Ordered this makeup palette of 88 eyeshadows off of HauteLook.com awhile back and it just got here. Super excited to use all the wonderful bright colors. The pots themselves are really small, but it’s not like I ever use all my larger ones. I also got a nice set of 13 makeup brushes in the sale. So excited to use them.

Things Worth Reading…

–Young, Fat, & Fabulous talks about not letting your fashion choices be dictated by your size and shape.

–Lolita by Nabokov, if you haven’t read it. It’s my favorite book, and I highly recommend it. The language is to die for.

–There’s been a lot of response to Julie Klausner’s post on Tumbler, but I loved Kaelah Bee’s (from Little Chief Honeybee) take on it. Kaelah Bee is amazing, if you’re not following her you should be.

–Sal from Already Pretty did a post on body hair.

–The Daily Mail’s post on the fashion industry and racism. (via College Fashion).

–Wish I could take this job opportunity. If only I lived in NYC. (via Gala Darling).

–These two posts on being beautiful in the blogging world, and body pressure in the blogosphere (you can also read Part 2 here). These are must reads for anyone blogging on style and fashion. If you read nothing else, read these!

(Uh oh, beginning a tangent…)

What got me started blogging was Kaelah Bee of Little Chief Honeybee mostly because I hadn’t seen other girls blogging who were curvy, or short, or… different from a fashion model. And, obviously, I’m curvy and short and clothes often don’t fit me right (see length of pants, or button up shirts). I try to feature a variety of girls in my sidebar–girls who are tall, thin, short, curvy, etc because that is what inspired me to start blogging–a girl who looked like me.  Every single blog listed on my sidebar is there because I love their blog, and I read it daily/every other day.

(Tangent continuing….)

In the same thread of thought, I would love for my little sister, Christine, to start her own style blog. I’m always super jealous of her outfits, and she’s honestly one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever run across.

See here:

That day she was also wearing a camel colored coat over her outfit, and she seriously looked the definition of luxury. However, I would bet that that outfit probably cost around $50. Maybe. Who wouldn’t want to follow a blog done by her?

When she was younger, people used to be really nasty and rude to her about her weight and it made me so furious because she’s the sweetest girl. When I was in college she always sent me cards on Valentine’s Day, Halloween, or just for no reason, and it makes me so angry to think of anyone hurting her feelings. And then I think, should she start a style blog? What if she gets nasty comments from others? I wouldn’t want her to experience that. But, on the other hand, I’m sure others on the internet would definitely appreciate her unique style and I bet she could share some great shopping tips. It’s hard to say what course of action anyone should take, of course, and I don’t know what the right course of action is (in fact, I more often than not take the wrong course).

Anyway, enough Chatty Kathy. I’ll resume 30×30 tomorrow morning.

Here Comes the Sun (30×30: Day 7)

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yellow tank, courtesy of my sister; pink stripy skirt, thrifted Laundry by Shelli Segal; pink cardi, Jones New York from Ross.

I really had to resist the urge to put “do do do do” in the title of this post. Yesterday was interesting outfit wise. I’ve been dreaming about combining these items for the past couple days but when I did, it just didn’t look right. Sigh.

I got the skirt for $1 at Buffalo Exchange awhile back, and I’ve never worn it. I thought it would be perfect for a colorblocking outfit, and I think maybe I would have liked the whole thing better if I hadn’t eliminated my turquoise cardigan from 30 for 30. Ah well.

I chose these white wedges from Payless to go with the outfit. They’re super comfy and since the Guy took me out for dinner and a movie last night, I wanted to be comfortable (interestingly enough, there is pretty much no good synonym for “comfortable”). We ended up seeing X-men: First Class. I liked it, but keep in mind that I do not have very discerning taste in movies. It’s like my taste in music, which the Guy cries about frequently. Afterwards we went for Thai food and I consumed an enormous amount of peanut sauce (it’s like crack. seriously.).

I probably could have accessorized a little more with the outfit, but it was so warm out that the thought of draping jewelry on myself seemed horrible. I could only imagine it sticking to my skin (actually I didn’t need to imagine it, it actually did happen earlier in the day when I had to wait an hour(!!!) for the next ferry. During that time I consumed a delicious crepe, I meant to take a picture of it but I kind of inhaled it before I managed to). I tried to add the scarf I wore yesterday, but it didn’t really work with the outfit no matter how I did it. The Guy said I was trying to mix hippie with office-worker-chic and it did not go. I needed less cardigan and more hippie, but it didn’t work with the 30 items I had, so maybe next month.

Just A Girl On A Mission (30×30: Day 6)

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For Father’s Day we snagged my Dad two different colognes at TJ Maxx. I browsed the women’s fragrances but the men’s area had a way better selection than the women’s. So if you’re looking for a fragrances of the nice variety I would suggest the men’s section. That is if you like muskier scents (I know that I do).

My parent’s house means my ability to acquire photographs of myself is a very interesting process. This scarf was one of my purchases yesterday, and went perfectly with my outfit. The awful weather again made my 30×30 dressing difficult. Jeans it was, for the 4th time.
The pink cardi is from Ross, the jeans are Silver, the Blowfish white flats were a gift, and the scarf is Oscar by Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx. I’ve also got my favorite pair of glasses back, as you can see.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the saying “in for a penny, in for a pound”, right? That’s kind of the attitude I took yesterday. After breaking my shopping ban, I pretty much went “why the heck not?” and added some more new items to my tally. Kind of like breaking a diet–if you eat one potato chip, why not have them all–am I right? In my defense, they were all items I needed (blouses/vests/cardis).

Below is a picture of the Shopping Maven, the Queen of Deals, the Ultimate Shopper:

My sister Christine. She does not buy a top over $13. Seriously. It sounds like a dream I know, but she managed to find me a dress at Macy’s for $11 and a brown cardi for $13. She’s seriously the shopping goddess. Shopping with her is like finding the Holy Grail. She regularly finds shirts for $2-$3. Her style is also very cute, so I had to put a nice pick of her up. :)

Leaving my parents house tomorrow. I’ll definitely be dressing for comfort.

Material Girl (30×30: Day 5)

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Today’s outfit consisted of those same white flats, the Current Eliott ripped jeans, the navy bell-sleeved cardi, and the navy and white patterned blouse. For most of the day the belt wasn’t included with the outfit–why? Because it wasn’t in my possession.

I could make excuses for breaking the “no shopping rule” and I will but I won’t. When I visit my family one of the ways we bond is through shopping, and my younger sister the deal hunter really wanted to go shopping this weekend. And I really did need more accessories, so it was worth the price. If you really wanted to know what did me in, it was the floppy hat. The floppy hat, I tell you! The white sitting on the desk next to me in the pictures. It just called to me from the Target racks (where I incidentally found the belt too) and I had to get it. Floppy sun hats that fit my head are so difficult to find.

Belt, Target; Glasses, Marc Jacobs

I could say I feel guilty about the purchases, but I don’t. I’m not sure I have the “guilt” gene (okay, I do but not in regards to clothing purchases).

Visiting my parents also meant I got to pick up my glasses from Costco and get my favorite black ones fixed (a screw was loose on one side). This white/gold rimmed pair is so cute! The weather has been particularly nasty down at my parent’s house, and I managed to forget all of my tights at home (while packing all of my 30 for 30 clothing) so I couldn’t wear my shorts or skirts today. Hence the pants. I have a feeling I should have chosen less skirts and more pants.